I would agree with you that it is very difficult to define the essence of tennis in comprehensive,and consise way.One has to be very knowledgeable and experienced to be able to define it starting from nemerous details, and reach simple and obvious definition.
I would not agree with you that there are several definitions.There is just one right definition which would cause following reaction,"That is it.It is so obvious, and it was in the back of my mind, just I could not articulate it."

No, Im saying that for the perspective of different people there could be several definitions.
Im not saying that there is actually more the one definition.
But homo sapiens could have different ideas of tennis.

Today, I have given lesson to the young man and this lesson gave me reason to write .I give him tennis lessons for years, but on average 1 hour per month.There is not chance that someone can learn how to play tennis by taking on average one hour per month (he plays very rarely with somone else).For very long time he was not even motivated at all to learn how to play tennis.Normally , he would sleep late on Sunday (because he would come home on Sunday morning), and even miss tennis lesson.Today, he called me around 9:30 a.m. to confirm me that he will come.What is change all about?
For long time he did not want to play against anybody.Once, when he has tried, he was pleasantly surprised that he could defeat his school collegues who were in much better physical shape than him.How come?Simply his tennis skills are better.This gave him motivation, and today he told me that last week he played three times for one and half hour.I could not believe from a completely unmotivated person for tennis, he turned in a person who likes to play tennis, and this change reflect on his behaviour.
Today, when I saw him how he enjoys playing tennis, I was glad that I have spent so much time learning about tennis so that I can understand what is tennis all about.If I had not have this kind of knowledge and experience he would never play tennis;not that he would never play tennis, but he would give up learning it long time ago.I made right choice which strokes to teach him (forehand and backhand groundstrokes, and flat serve), developed his body mechanics for this strokes and I had right attitude although many times was very difficult.
Today, I am glad because I see that my efforts paid off.That young man enjoys game of tennis, and it heps him to have more confidence in everyday life.
All this would not be possible that I do not know the essence of tennis.

If performance of a well-trained skill deteriotates, review shaping - the rules that govern the learning process.A skill may temporarily suffer for many reasons;the best way to restore it is to go back to the basics.In order to do it one has to be aware of the essence of tennis (certain stroke or behaviour).

It does not matter which stance one uses to hit forehand groundstroke;it matters that the position of the feet enables stability, ability to use body motion to accelerate the racket, and ability to recover for the next stroke.

This is another example of what is tennis all about;substance not a form.

Tennis is 70&#37; alactic anaerobic, 20% lactic anaerobic, and only 10% aerobic.On the other hand one needs a great deal of stamina (length of matches, time spent around the court, travelling etc.).One has to know these facts for adequate training, and because of it these facts make essence of tennis , too.

For me, tennis is a sport games focus on stamina, strength, agility, intelligence, strategies and more.
In other benefits, it bring joys and also maintain good relationship among all the tennis players.

Not certain if you just pulled this from an article but in my opinion speaking as a now part-time High School & Semi-Private Tennis Instructor for more years than I can remember, you basically nailed it.

If I were going to address this question by our Member Bubo, that is what I would have essentially said. So all I can do is point out that Tennis is no different than any other Sport. Strange as it may be but Tennis is sometimes compared to Boxing and I have come to understand the association. You have two combatants with a single goal, [To Win] but how you achieve that is what the game is all about.

The ingredients required to defeat a formidable opponent is as Raymondtehcc said, you need various weapons in the form of a clear understanding of the game, stamina, strategy and execution. When all of these elements are working in your favor, then and only then do you have your best opportunity to win.

Tennis like many other Sports is a testimonial of one's self. How much are you willing to ask of yourself to achieve the goal of winning a contest? Everybody thinks they can dance but not everybody can dance. Some not only hear the music but feel it as well,whereas others are trained to move in a certain way to the music.

I've often been asked why is hitting against the wall important? My answer has often been, to enhance your timing. Timing is crucial in tennis and it's not something that everyone is equally as good at. This is why you will hear Commentators make claim about players like Agassi, who they tout as having one of the best return of serves in the game amongst others as well.

In order to accomplish that, you must have exceptional Hand / Eye coordination. Your eyes see the ball coming and your body reacts at a specific moment to get the results you want not the results that happen to occur. When you've mastered as good as you can these and more skills in Tennis, then you begin to realize that you have disciplined yourself to be successful in this game. And that's when you realize it's no longer about Tennis anymore, it's about accomplishments & achievements.

.Good Question Bubo

The only acceptable loss is when your opponent was better than you on that given day.
It is never acceptable to lose when your opponent was not.

Yes.It is very good question.It seems obvious, but it is very difficult to define in concise and comprehensive way.Mostly people define in descriptive way ommitting certain things or emphasing things of less importance.The definition will be valid when knowledgeble and experienced tennis people will agree unanimously upon it.Before that is just someone&#168;s perception.

Why did I ask this question?
To reach definition which would directly define supstance of tennis so one who tries to bring a child to professional tennis has general picture what has to be trained to perfection that his/her player one day has shot in professional tennis.

My niece lives in Germany.Every year visits me (stays around 10 days), and when she is here every second day I teach her tennis.So every time I teach her 5-6 hours of tennis.This started 3 years ago when she was 6 years old.In Germany, she attends tennis school,too (4 in a group, twice a week).In last three years, she had three tennis teachers:two Germans, and an Englishman.
Why am I saying all this?To show the importance of the essence of tennis even with so young children who have no intention to compete, but just to learn how to play tennis.
My teaching was based on the essence of tennis (to come to a ball with a body, and once a ball is reached body is ready to release energy).The tennis teachers (3 of them) in Germany who teach her tennis there do not know the essence of tennis.They teach her that the reaction to a coming ball is with an arm which is completely wrong because this reaction does not prepare someone to hit a ball when a ball is in position to be hit.It is not their fault;they just do not understand the essence of tennis so really they are not able to teach someone tennis.

Now, I will describe my niece&#168;s reaction.We do that once a year so at the start (first two hours) she starts with just using her arm, and little by little (using simple exercises) I refresh what I thought her one year ago, and after while it surfaces.Then, I am able to build on.

This example shows me how important is essence of tennis.If the three tennis teachers in Germany knew it too I would not have to refresh what was learned one year ago.On the other hand it shows that essence learned properly stays with a student even if it was covered by multiple number of hours of wrong teaching.How come?Because esence of tennis is the only natural way for a body to react to oncoming ball so once learned it can be covered with something else but it will never go away.

Bubo, i don't know that you are teaching tennis.. atleast not in a traditional method as you do admit. It seems that perhaps you are teaching the essence of life. Of course, tennis does not exist without life. I don't really know what I'm getting at, and I wonder how in or out of focus you are with this topic.

I've often been asked why is hitting against the wall important? My answer has often been, to enhance your timing. Timing is crucial in tennis and it's not something that everyone is equally as good at. This is why you will hear Commentators make claim about players like Agassi, who they tout as having one of the best return of serves in the game amongst others as well.

The only thing a dislike about hitting against a wall - it seems to teach me bad form. What's your thought on that?

Tennis is no different than any other Sport. Strange as it may be but Tennis is sometimes compared to Boxing and I have come to understand the association. You have two combatants with a single goal, [To Win] but how you achieve that is what the game is all about.

I would say that every sport is different by psychological and physical demands,but most of alll by specific technique.
At my prime I worked really hard.I could do 42 one handed push-ups (Rocky I movie) so I thought that being in excellent physical shape I will learn karate in no time.Very wrong.Every sport is specific in its skills.There is better transfer between some sports (hockey players learn to play decent tennis while karate fighters look funny on tennis court).

To me tennis at its highest level is like chess game which includes running because like in chess once when one has advantage on a chess table having enough quality will most likely win a point.The same applies for tennis too.

This is an interesting conversation and many things Bubo writes are well stated. I must, however, disagree with the precept that tennis is difficult and complicated. To the contrary, when one understands the essence of tennis it is incredibly simple - to comprehend and to execute. It is false data and lack of awareness which causes complexity and difficulty.

How good can your game get? You too can play like the Pros with The Wegner Method.
Discuss The Wegner Method here at TW in the MTM forum or visit www.tennisteacher.com for more info.

There is a fundamental similarity between martial arts and tennis. It is the "secret ingredient" which is so simple, but which most players and coaches fail to recognize. Once understood it unlocks the mystery of how the pros play with such force and speed. It can be applied to anyone's game to create phenomenal results and free him to play like the pros.

How good can your game get? You too can play like the Pros with The Wegner Method.
Discuss The Wegner Method here at TW in the MTM forum or visit www.tennisteacher.com for more info.